Armenian genocide

The term “genocide” was first coined by Rafael Lemkin in 1943, and it refers not only to the killing of a group of people, but also their destruction as a viable group. 

For a people to heal from a terrible wrong, the first step is that the perpetrator of the wrong must admit it.  Otherwise it remains a festering wound, and the healing process cannot begin.

What the Turks did to the Armenians during World War I was genocide.  It may have happened before the word was coined by Mr. Lemkin, but that is what it was.  The Turkish government admits that crimes were committed against the Armenians, but it can’t quite bring itself to use the word genocide.  Until it does, the Armenians will not be able to forgive the Turkish government.  By its refusal to use the term “genocide” the Turkish government closes off the necessary healing process.

It may help to understand the Turkish government’s reluctance when we consider the U.S. response to its treatment of American Indians.  I live in an area that was once inhabited by the Lenape Indians.  Many were killed, then the survivors were relocated to Ohio, then moved again to Oklahoma.  Remnants remain even today, but the Lenapes were destroyed as a viable “people.”  That fits the definition of genocide, yet it is not a word you will hear when the Lenapes are discussed.